Glen Oaks president gets ‘no-confidence’ vote

Glen Oaks Community College President Gary Wheeler has received a vote of “no confidence” from faculty union members.

By Rosalie Curriercurrier@sturgisjournal.com

Glen Oaks Community College President Gary Wheeler has received a vote of “no confidence” from faculty union members.

Union President Chad Worthington presented the Glen Oaks Board of Trustees with a letter Wednesday, stating, “The faculty’s position is that Dr. Wheeler’s leadership and management skills, approach toward faculty and staff, interaction with community members and organization and ability to direct the college through successful accreditation processes has been insufficient. These deficiencies have been detrimental to the college’s efforts to achieve its mission.”

Following the meeting, Worthington, a psychology professor, said the vote of no confidence took place Dec. 6 at a special union meeting. Union members voted 23-4 in favor of the statement.

One point of concern is accreditation, Worthington said. The college is accredited with the Higher Learning Commission of the North Central Association. The next reaffirmation of accreditation comes in 2014-15, but on Nov. 1, a systems portfolio was required. On Nov. 20, the committee working on the portfolio learned that it did not make the grade and a Dec. 4 phone call came from the Higher Learning Commission to the committee to discuss problems with the systems portfolio.

Worthington pointed out that Wheeler is the chairman of the board of trustees for the Higher Learning Commission, but has not led his own institution on a solid accreditation path.

“There should have been direction, guidance and meetings,” Worthington said.

Glen Oaks has 31 faculty members who are required to be union members. Four did not vote and four cast a vote of confidence for Wheeler.

“We are cohesive as a faculty,” Worthington said. “It was a very professional discussion among faculty.”

Worthington said a vote of no confidence is symbolic.

“We have no control over Dr. Wheeler at all,” Worthington said. “It is sending a message to the board. What the board does with it is up to the board.”

At Wednesday’s meeting, three of the four newly-elected board trustees were sworn in: Mary Lou Falkenstein, Joni Smith and incumbent Nancy Percival. John Bippus was not present.

Glen Oaks is not moving forward, Worthington said. The common voice of the faculty is for “a change in the culture of the college from the top down,” and for Glen Oaks to continue to be “one of the lights in St. Joseph County.”

Following the meeting, Wheeler responded to the no-confidence vote.

“I know of no underlying issues that precipitated it,” Wheeler said. “They have not held meetings with me to talk about problems that they think need solutions.”

Wheeler was hired as president at Glen Oaks in 2007, a successor to Glenn Oxender.

From 1976-2005, Wheeler was an art professor at Miami University Middletown in Middletown, Ohio. He was the president of Gogebic Community College in Ironwood from 2005-07.

In 2007, Wheeler received a 19-0 vote of no-confidence from Gogebic faculty, with two abstaining, according to board minutes from Gogebic Community College dated April 23, 2007.